Reliable Rain: A Practical Guide to Landscape Irrigation [Paperback]

Howard Hendrix (Author), Stuart Straw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Whether in an arid area of the country or one where water conservation is a necessity, home irrigation systems can be an efficient way of delivering water to plants. Readers learn how to choose and use controllable water delivery alternatives to keep lawns, gardens and landscapes green and healthy.

Irrigation enthusiast Howard Hendrix explains in friendly, understandable language how new advances have put efficient irrigation systems within reach of the average gardener.
-- Explains how to assess irrigation needs for all types of soil, plants and climates, from simple soakers to electronically controlled systems.
-- Shows how to evaluate a yard for water efficiency.
-- Includes photos and illustrations that demystify the equipment available and show how to choose and install it.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An irrigation system contributes to a landscape's overall health. However, gardeners who might be considering putting in some sort of watering device should be aware of the cost and often considerable work involved. This guide should promote understanding of techniques used in installing such devices and how to evaluate the soil and microclimate of a given yard. Line drawings and photographs illustrate many types of equipment as well as various designs for irrigating systems. Whether the reader is a do-it-yourself gardener or someone about to hire a landscaping contractor, Hendrix and Straw have written a manual that provides accessible definitions, usable plans, and concise explanations of how systems work. Alice Joyce

Product Details

• Paperback: 139 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press; 1st ed edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561582026
• ISBN-13: 978-1561582020
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great guide for your own professional irrigation system, October 18, 2002

By 

Jessica Ferguson "threelittlebirds" (Woodbury, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reliable Rain: A Practical Guide to Landscape Irrigation (Paperback)

If "practical" means "technical" then the title of this book tells you just what to expect! With sentences like, "Whether you're working with galvanized, slip PVC, or threaded PVC, you will now need a stem to connect every manifold orifice to the orifice in the bottom of each of your irrigation control vales." you can see this is not a quick reference. This book is, however, a detailed manual on evaluating, building, and installing your own garden irrigation system. It helps to evaluate your watering needs and from there follows through to offer specific plans for laying pipes, installing sprinklers, using timers, and system automation. Black and white photos and diagrams help make sense of the more technical jargon (which actually begins to sound like English about half of the way through). A very detailed and specific guide.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, but poorly organized., December 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Reliable Rain: A Practical Guide to Landscape Irrigation (Paperback)

This book had a lot of promise, written as it is by an English professor whose hands-on experience might easily translate to the experiences other do-it-yourselfers have. But it's disappointing. Concepts are poorly explained. There is little discussion about what pipe diameters (1/2", 3/4", etc.) are appropriate for what kind of job. He vaguely references working through moving from one diameter to the other, but does not explain why and in what circumstances each pipe is appropriate. Nor does he really put irrigation into a context that probably 90% of homeowners experience -- suburbia. There's discussion about micro sytems, macro systems, etc., but precious little discussion of the all-American suburban lawn. After reading this book, I have no idea what type of pipe and sprinkler is best for my suburban American lawn, and that's a pity indeed.